TANK CLEANING MACHINE WITH SELECTIVE WASH PROGRAMMING

• US 3,874,594 A
• Filed: 04/25/1973
• Issued: 04/01/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kenneth John Hatley
• Original Assignee: Kenneth John Hatley
• Inventors: Hatley, Kenneth John
• Primary Examiner(s): Wood, Jr., M. Henson
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mar, Michael Y.
• Application Number:
  US05/354,508
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 239/225,227,237,240 134/24,167R 416/167
• US Class Current: 239/227
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 3/0445 the movement of the outlet elements being a combination of two movements, one being rotational
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 3/16 driven or controlled by the liquid or other fluent material discharged, e.g. the liquid actuating a motor before passing to the outlet B05B3/0431, B05B3/0468, B05B3/0472 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 9/0936 using rotating jets

Abstract

A tank washing machine, suitable for cleaning the tanks of marine oil tankers, in which washing liquid is discharged from a nozzle mounted on a housing which is rotatable about a first axis (e.g., vertical) in relation to other normally fixed parts of the machine. The nozzle is pivotable or rotatable about a second axis (e.g., horizontal) which is at an angle to the first axis. A single driving means (preferably a single turbine powered by wash liquid) is connected, via gears and a clutch mechanism, to rotate the housing about the first axis and via other gears to pivot or rotate the nozzle about the second axis, the ratio of the angular speeds of the nozzle and housing about their respective axes being constant, but the absolute angular speeds being varied in accordance with a selected program (e.g., as determined by the profile of a cam) so that distant tank walls are sprayed as effectively as proximate walls, during use.

Claims

1. A tank washing machine suitable for cleaning tanks of oil tankers, comprising a wash liquid supply pipe in communication with a nozzle housing rotatable about its longitudinal axis, a nozzle fixed to said nozzle housing, said nozzle being rotatable about an axis at an angle to its own longitudinal axis and at an angle to the axis of rotation of said housing, a turbine having turbine blades actuated by the flow of wash liquid from said wash liquid supply pipe, means operably driven in response to the impingement of said wash liquid on said turbine blades and including program means for causing said tanks to be cleaned in accordance with a predetermined programmed wash cycle, said program means operably connected for changing the speed of said turbine, and means connecting said turbine to drive said nozzle and nozzle housing for automatically varying the speed of each of said nozzle housing and saiD nozzle during operation as a function of said predetermined programmed wash cycle of said program means.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle housing is co-axial with the wash liquid supply pipe.

3. A machine according to claim 2 wherein said turbine is located at the opposite end of said wash liquid supply pipe from said nozzle housing and is connected thereto by means of a rotatable shaft.

4. A machine according to claim 2 wherein the nozzle is rotatable about an axis disposed at an angle of 90* to the axis of rotation of the nozzle housing.

5. A machine according to claim 4 wherein the axis about which the nozzle is rotatable is disposed at substantially 90* to its longitudinal axis.

6. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said turbine blades have a variable pitch and said program means are operably connected therewith through means comprising a slidable rod co-axial with the axis of the turbine, and means for connecting said rod with said program means and said turbine blades so that sliding of said rod is in accordance with said program means for varying the pitch of said turbine blades in response thereto.

7. A machine according to claim 6 wherein said program means comprises a rotatable cam having profile corresponding to said predetermined programmed wash cycle, and liner means connected at one end for sensing said profile and at the opposite end for causing said rod to slide as a function of the sensed profile.

8. A machine according to claim 6 wherein the nozzle oscillates about its axis of rotation.

9. A machine according to claim 8 comprising a slidable and rotatable clutch member having faces at opposite ends thereto, each of said faces adapted to engage with two other rotatable clutch members respectively, and gear means connected to said other rotatable clutch members and to the nozzle and nozzle housing so that when an adjacent face of said slidable clutch member disengages from engagement with one of said other clutch members the opposite face thereof engages with the other of said clutch members which causes a reversal in the direction of rotation of the nozzle and nozzle housing.

10. A tank washing machine for cleaning storage tanks, comprising a nozzle having a longitudinal axis and mounted for pivotal movement about a first axis substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, a housing for pivotally mounting said nozzle and being rotatable about a second axis disposed at an angle relative to said first axis, conduit means for supplying tank wash liquid to said nozzle, common drive means connected for rotating said housing and for causing said nozzle to pivot in a predetermined fixed angular velocity relationship, predetermined tank wash profile means for defining a desired automatic wash program for cleaning said tank, said tank wash profile means connected with said common drive means for regulating the speed thereof as a function of said tank wash profile means and for automatically varying the absolute rate of angular velocity of said housing and said nozzle in accordance with said tank wash profile means, said tank wash profile means comprising cam means having a cam surface defining said wash program, and cam follower means for tracking said cam surface and connected with said common drive means for regulating the speed thereof in response to the tracked cam surface.

11. A machine according to claim 10 wherein said common drive means includes a turbine actuated by the flow of wash liquid.

12. A machine according to claim 11 wherein said turbine includes turbine blades, and comprising lever means for varying the angle between said turbine blades and the direction of flow of wash liquid impinging thereon in accordance with the cam surface as sensed by said cam follower.

13. A machine according to claim 12 wherein said turbine blades have a variable pitch.

14. A machine according to claim 13 wherein said means for varying the relative angle between said turbine bladEs and the wash liquid impinging thereon comprises a slidable rod co-axial with the axis of said turbine, and lever means connecting said rod to said turbine blades for causing the pitch of said turbine blades to vary in relation to the pitch of said turbine blades a vary in relation to the sliding movement of said rod.

15. A machine according to claim 14 wherein said slidable rod is operably connected to a first end of pivotably mounted lever means, said lever means carrying at the opposite end thereof said cam follower means disposed in operable tracking contact with said cam surface.

16. A machine according to claim 15 wherein said cam means is rotatably mounted.

17. A tank washing machine adapted for cleaning the interior of a cargo storage tank, comprising variable speed drive actuated by wash liquid, said speed varying automatically in accordance with a predetermined wash program for said tank, predetermined wash program means operably connected with said drive means for causing the speed of said drive means to automatically vary in accordance with said wash program for said tank, nozzle means for use in cleaning said tank and means connecting said drive means to said nozzle for automatically varying the speed thereof in accordance with said wash program, whereby said tank is cleaned in a predetermined optimum manner.